Should I Dissociate From a False Christian at My Job? - Ask Pastor Tim

This is a good one for a certain reason

that I want to try to draw out here.

"I have a guy at my job..."

This is coming from Ty.

"I have a guy at my job

who claimed to be a Christian..."

past tense.

I don't know that he's stopped claiming

to be a Christian.

"I believed him at first

and accepted him as a brother.

I started to see who he really was.

After months, I rebuked him.

His language and actions got worse.

I voiced to him I didn't believe

he was born again."

(incomplete thought)

And he references 1 Corinthians 5

concerning avoiding people.

"Even after this, he continues to try

to converse with me."

So basically, he's taking a
1 Corinthians 5 position

with this guy not to associate with him.

"How do you handle or
avoid such a person?"

Now the question I want
to ask everybody is this:

Does Matthew 18 -

where if somebody sins against me,

I should go to him;

and if they don't hear me,

I should take two or three;

if they don't hear me,

I should take it before the church;

if they don't hear us,

we treat them like a tax collector;

and then 1 Corinthians

where you have somebody that sins -

it's more overt; it's more public -

it doesn't need to be dealt with

in more of a concealed,

slowly-evolving fashion.

It's so public

that you put the person out
of the church immediately.

Here's my question.

I recognize his question is

how do you avoid a person

that you work with?

We can get to that in a moment.

But the question I would ask is this:

Should we even use Matthew 18

and 1 Corinthians 5 in the workplace?

Is that for the church?

And life in the church?

Should we carry that
over to the workplace?

Should we carry that over to school?

Should we carry that over to the family?

Should we carry that over to

like the women's Grace House?

Should we do that?

Is that proper?

What do you think?

(from the room)

What's his brother?

Probably somebody who
is a professing Christian?

(unintelligible)

Tim: Okay, so if we
think about Matthew 18,

it says specifically,

"if a brother sins against you..."

Then what's the whole point?

Trying to gain your brother.

Specifically - brother.

In 1 Corinthians 5, the idea is

anybody who calls himself a brother.

So, what do you think?

Here's the question I would ask.

Okay, we are on the
fringes of the Bible belt.

If every single person

who claimed to be a Christian,

but didn't live like one,

if we automatically
disassociate ourselves -

outside of the church -

Look, if you go to your workplace,
you go to your school,

you go to the HEB you shop at,

and you just start asking people:

"Are you a Christian?"

And then you start asking
them about their life,

do you know what you're going
to find? 99.9% of the time,

their life does not measure up

to true biblical Christianity.

And if you take those principles

and you apply them,

especially in a country like ours,

you know what you're going to do?

You're going to end up disassociating

with all manner of people

that you ought to be evangelizing.

So I think we need to be careful,

because I don't think we
want to fall into that.

Here's one thing to think about.

The church that we're in -

I'll tell you this, we have an expectation

that people that are within
the walls of our church

actually are people who have been

exposed to the truth,

and actually do have some idea

about what it is to be a Christian,

to be a brother or a sister in the Lord.

There is massive ignorance out there.

Now, I know this country

is becoming burned over,

and I know atheism (incomplete thought).

But if you ask people
if they're Christians,

what do you think?

What do you think if you walked
up and down these streets,

and you just started asking
people one after another,

"are you Christians?"

What do you think a percentage would be

that would say yes?

Pretty high.

Those are exactly the people

that we should be being lights to.

Those are exactly the people

that what we want to do

is we want to seek to help

bring those people

out of their ignorance

and out of their darkness.

Here's the thing,

the picture of Matthew 18

is kind of like of two brothers

who are close,

in a church,

and we lose a brother,

because isn't that what
we're trying to do?

Gain our brother?

How do you lose him?

Well, because there's sin
between the two of you.

But the idea is you've got
two people that are close

and they're together in the same church,

and they've sinned,

and they're seeking reconciliation.

If you think about the emphasis

there in 1 Corinthians 5,

we don't want the leaven.

We don't want the leaven in the church.

But you see, the truth is,

the guy at work -

we're not allowing him in the church.

See, there's a whole difference here.

It's not like the guy that you work with

shows up and wants to
talk to James and myself

and he's wanting to join the church.

That's not what's happening.

It's not like we let him into the church

and now this has happened.

These are people that are outside.

And the thing is,

yes, you could say,

you know what?

Leaven.

That's influence.

You could say that somebody

is having an influence on you

that's not good

and you need to avoid them.

But see, I would say that's true

saved or lost.

I mean, when I first got saved,

I thought I could hang out

with my lost buddies

and I really did want to evangelize them.

But you know where I
was evangelizing them?

In the bars.

You look at that now and you'd laugh.

But coming out of the
lifestyle that I came out of,

that wasn't laughable.

I mean, that's what we did all the time.

And that's where my friends were.

And I wanted to tell them the truth.

And I would say before the Lord,

Lord, I'm only going to
have two beers tonight.

And I'd have four.

Well, as much as I drank back then,

that didn't get me drunk,

but you know what? I didn't keep my word.

So I'd come home grieved.

And that happened enough times

where I thought, you know what?

I've talked to these guys

and I'm not being a good
influence on them.

They're being a bad one on me.

And I'd recognize I'm not capable

of doing this anymore.

But I think that's a big question to ask.

Because that seems to be the issue -

leaven.

It seems to be the issue.

(incomplete thought)

And I think we need to ask that.

Is there a place to do what he did?

You've got somebody telling you

they're a Christian,

and you're looking, watching their life

and it doesn't seem to be very Christian -

to say, "I don't think you're born again"?

Do we have a right to
judge people like that?

Yeah, you better believe we do.

Scripture says that we do.

Let me ask you this.

Where does it say that we do?

Where is there judgment
shown in Scripture?

(from the room)

Judge a tree by its fruit.

Tim: That's one place.

Can anybody think of anywhere else?

Or even where Scripture

just dogmatically makes a statement

about somebody?

Now, we might say, that's God's Word

and God has the right to make a statement,

but I mean, the truth is

sometimes it's God's men -

yes, they're under inspiration,

but they're making
observations about the church

and they're dogmatically
making statements,

such as... anybody think of any?

(from the room)

They told Simon, "your heart
is not right before God."

Tim: See, there's a situation right there.

You've got Peter and he comes face-to-face

with a guy who Scripture says

believed and was baptized

under Phillip's preaching.

And Peter comes along and says,

"You're going to perish."

(from the room)

He even said "your heart."

It's like he judges the heart right there.

Tim: Right.

Can you think of anywhere else?

(from the room)

I'm thinking in the sense of Paul

when he went to Galatia.

There were these professing Judaizers.

Tim: Yeah, there's these guys preaching

error to the Galatians, and he's says

some of the strongest things he ever says.

They're talking about circumcision

and he's saying some -

in the vernacular,

it was pretty rough language.

You have John.

He says they went out from us

and they weren't of us.

And he can make that judgment.

He says if they were of us,

they would not have gone out from us.

And you know the reality is,

very, very seldom does anybody

leave our church who's genuine

and goes off to another church.

I mean, they leave because
they don't like the church,

they don't like the teaching,
they don't like something.

I'm not talking about a
transfer or something.

But they leave because they don't
like something and they go off.

Very seldom are they
legitimate Christians.

Most of the time, that reality is true.

They went out from us
because they weren't of us.

You know, we can think of Matt.

He left.

At first, you hope the best,

but as time goes on,

he says he's not saved.

That's what happens.

But Scripture talks this way.

Scripture talks about people
that make shipwreck.

Scripture talks about people

who are not genuine.

Scripture talks about false brethren.

Scripture talks about those

who are tares.

It talks that way.

And as far as us making
judgments concerning it,

I mean, look, there's oftentimes

that the writers of
Scripture are charitable.

They're kind.

I mean, Paul could
look at the Corinthians,

but he still said you need
to examine yourselves

whether you're in the faith.

Why? Because some of them

were demonstrating lifestyles

that were questionable at best.

(from the room)

I have a question for you.

Do you think there's a difference

between somebody who
if you were to ask him

would he call himself a Christian,

but in a workplace wouldn't
say that they are.

They don't tell other people
about their Christianity,

versus someone who is very open

about being a Christian
and yet their lives

don't reflect that?

Tim: Well, I think the big deal with that

is they dishonor Christ.

They dishonor the name of Christianity.

(incomplete thought)

If you've got a genuine
Christian in the workplace,

and then you've got somebody

who's a false Christian,

and maybe they're even more vocal

about telling people they're a Christian.

I'll tell you this,

we're just focusing down

and narrowing down to the workplace.

But the reality is the world out here

is exactly like that.

And the thing is

that yeah, the world loves to say,

"Aha! You're just like me."

But you know what gets them?

It's the guy over there
that isn't like them.

And you can go around

finding all the counterfeit
dollars all day -

don't you have a
counterfeit dollar in there?

That's a true one.

See, you can have a bunch
of counterfeit money,

but it doesn't negate the real one.

And that's the problem.

You know what?

You go in a workplace, you go in a school,

you go wherever you go,

if you act the part of the real Christian,

and you walk in the fear of God,

and you're honest

and you show integrity,

you'll stand out.

People see it.

And they know.

And they can mock

and they can carry on

about the false guy,

but you are a thorn in their side,

because they don't like it.

Because it condemns them.

That's the reality.

It condemns them.

When I got saved,

my friends had to come
up with explanations for it.

Well, you know what they say.

"This isn't going to last long."

"He'll get over this."

It's always something.

(incomplete thought)

The last time I was up there -

one of the last times -

and I had a group of the
guys gathered around,

I said uh huh... it's been 20 years,

and I'm still following Christ.

And they threw all their theories out.

And I got to preach to them

about being born again.

And the thing is it's like

they've got to come up with
some kind of explanation.

Because they know -

they know something happened to me.

And if you can't explain that away,

(incomplete thought)

Well, I think I'm okay,

but something happened to him,

and it didn't happen to me.

And if that's the real
thing, I'm in trouble.

(from the room)

Brother, I had a text

if you don't mind if I share it.

It's 2 John 9, it says,

"Everyone who goes on ahead

and does not abide in
the teaching of Christ

does not have God.

Whoever abides in the teaching

has both the Father and the Son.

If anyone comes to you

and does not bring this teaching,

do not receive him into your house

or give him any greeting.

For whoever greets him takes part

in his wicked works."

That might be more so teaching,

(unintelligible)

Tim: Well, that definitely is teaching.

They're going on ahead.

What they're doing is
they're leaving behind

this deposit of faith

that's once been delivered

to the people of God.

And they're moving beyond that.

You don't want to be innovative.

This is the same truth that has been

believed for 2,000 years

and handed down.

What I would say there

is obviously that is the kind of thing

where what you want to be sensitive to

is somehow encouraging them

or applauding them,

somehow sanctioning what they're doing.

If a Jehovah's Witness or a Mormon

comes to my door,

I will not shake their hand.

But, if I had a flat tire
and a guy pulled over

and I became aware he was a Mormon,

and he helped me fix the tire,

and he wasn't there preaching at me

about his false doctrine,

I would shake his hand when I was done.

Why? Because I'm not encouraging

his false teaching.

I think that's the issue there.

I don't think it means

that if you find out
somebody's a Catholic,

well, "oh, that's heresy!

That's damnable!

Mary worship!

They believe in works.

I can't shake your hand."

I don't think that that's

what's being called for there,

but I think it's got to do with

directly endorsing or
encouraging their preaching.

And when they're at your door

wanting to speak it,

assuming the best -

just two days ago,

a preacher showed up at the door.

I saw this guy.

It was strange -

my office is out here on the front.

And I'm looking out the window

and a guy -

now this field over here is contained.

It's got fences all the way around it.

So you don't come out
of the middle of that field

unless you purposely went out there.

And there's a hill and
there's trees out there.

And I'm looking and a guy comes out

from underneath the trees.

What's this guy doing?

And then he's making a bee line

straight towards my front door.

So I'm watching him, watching him.

I thought yeah, this
guy's coming to the door.

So I run down and he's a preacher.

And he was wanting to
invite me to his church

and I didn't ask him,

what were you doing under the trees?

But I told him we have a
burden for the East side,

and we go door-to-door

and I got him one of the shocking DVD's

and put it in his hand.

I think I shook his hand.

I don't know what he teaches.

And we didn't really get into it.

But I think there's a
place for us to be kind.

I don't think that the
place of the Christian

(incomplete thought)

I don't think it's the place

to come across to the world

like we're sour, dour, mean.

But, if somebody's dishonoring Christ

and teaching another gospel,

don't endorse it.

Don't shake their hands.

There's a place just to speak to them

like Paul spoke

because they're damning souls.

You smile and shake
the hand of the Mormon,

what they are trying to do

is take your neighbors
to the pit with them.

They don't believe that,

but that's exactly what it is.

So I would just say this,

look, Christians, we live in the land

of false professions galore.

We need to be light in those situations.

And I would not cut off
association with people

because somebody's got a false profession,

you being real may be the very thing

that God will use to open their eyes.

And you being mean to them

is not what does it.

I mean, you think about it.

You think about Jesus

and His interaction with like a Pharisee.

He'd go eat at their house.

What was that saying?

Did he know that they held

to some kind of Judaistic error?

Of course He did.

Did He know they were lost? Yes.

And He would even in His
conversations with them,

after they called Him out,

said He had a devil,
called Him a Samaritan,

He was still saying,

"I say these things that
you might be saved."

He's still showing a kindness

and a compassion to them.

He wouldn't endorse their teaching.

Paul wouldn't endorse their teaching.